Would you like to meet Beni and Boni, Gorgon and Dedek or Ucok and Joko – all adult orangutans and all with a personality! Boni sweeps and cleans his cage as he had been taught to clean his owner’s house and wash his car! Ukok and Joko were kept in a cage in a restaurant in Central Java where they were taught to smoke cigarettes to amuse the customers! … and we could go on …

These orangutans have been rescued and brought to the Indonesia Orangutan and Wildlife Sanctuary near Yogyakarta – a safe home for them after many years of bad treatment – with the aim of rehabilitating them back to their natural habitat where possible. However, that is not always possible – for example Beni was kept in a cage so small that he couldn’t stand up – resulting in back problems; Dedek also had an infection that stunted his growth and Ucok and Joko have become proud parents to Si Mungil (the tiny one) – and they have all found a wonderful, permanent home here at the Sanctuary.

The non-profit making Centre badly needs volunteers to help look after these orangutans – and other wildlife – that have been rescued and brought in. The rapid destruction of Indonesia’s rain forests has resulted in many orangutans and other endangered species losing their homes. The volunteer work is hands-on – and in total more than 200 animals are resident at any time.

The Centre is close to a local village and volunteers are warmly welcomed by the locals – and even invited to a traditional Javanese meal one Friday evening.

If you can spare just two weeks in 2017 your input will make a real difference to the lives of these wonderful animals.